


I Told You We're Brothers

by lisa912



Series: Peter Parker and His Half-Blood Family [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Child Abuse, Cinnamon Roll Peter Parker, Dark Past, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Bonding, Gen, Half-Siblings, Harley Keener & Peter Parker are Siblings, Harley Keener is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, Harley Keener-centric, IronLad - Freeform, Irondad, Kinda, Minor Violence, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Post-Iron Man 3, Pre-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Protective Harley Keener, family building, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisa912/pseuds/lisa912
Summary: "Thanks," Peter then says abruptly and awkwardly. "For... you know, sticking up for me."Harley scoffs."Yeah, well," he says, "I told you we're brothers now, dude."OrIn which Harley reminds Peter that he is no longer alone in this world.(One-Shot. Based on MCU. Peter Parker and Harley Keener are both Tony Stark's biological sons.)
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker
Series: Peter Parker and His Half-Blood Family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1430296
Comments: 12
Kudos: 324





	I Told You We're Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Hi... Long time no upload.... Again.... ( ._.)
> 
> It feels like I'm always apologizing for taking so long with my update... And I'm fully aware that I cannot say it enough.  
> My life (and my laziness) just does not let me write in peace... as always... Now that I really, REALLY have some time at hand (I'm taking a break from my college and done with all the other projects and part-time jobs for now), I'm on a writing streak, so I'll speed up and try to catch up quickly.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did conceiving and writing it!
> 
> (Just a small sidenote: I apologize beforehand for some possible out-of-character elements for the characters. I've already mentioned in the previous story, but since they're Tony's kids, I added some Stark snark touches to them. And I thought that Peter most likely has been affected by the dark past that I've given him in this series. Thus, he may come across as being a little closed-up, defensive, and a little depressed.)

Harley is not a little kid. He's not in the age range in which a child would eagerly anticipate or ask for a sibling. He already had one -- a sister he would do anything to protect. He never thought about having a brother. He may have wanted one at some point in his life, but by now he was way over it. 

So, he wasn't that excited when he first heard that he now has a brother as well. That doesn't mean that he was against it, either. He just accepted it -- took it as a fact more than anything. There were no negative feelings as much as there were no particularly positive ones. Having a sibling was just that; having a sibling.

He was willing to be a brother to someone new (if not a good one). He was willing to try. The only remaining question was whether the new kid was, too.

Harley has to admit that he is a little disappointed. Peter seemed like an okay human being. Yet, during the few days after Peter moved in, Harley hardly ever interacted with him. On the first day, he showed Peter around the tower. The two of them and Tony had meals together every morning and evening. Peter used the room right across from his, and they ran into each other practically every single day. Still, those little encounters never evolved into an actual conversation. Peter stayed quiet while he ate his food. He even tried to skip breakfast for the first two days until Tony practically forced him to eat. When Harley introduced each part of the tower to him and asked some casual questions, all Peter gave were short simple answers. During the daytime, Peter had a part-time job. When he was not working at God-knows-what-place, he spent most of his time in his room.

Harley tries to understand. He knows that Peter has had a hard life. He sees why he is so defensive. 

Still, he cannot help feeling disappointed. A relationship involves both sides -- without the participation of the other, one can never build a connection. Harley was willing to make one with Peter; he just wasn't sure if Peter was as well.

Harley now walks through the street with a pair of earphones plugged into his ears. It's quite early in the afternoon, right after lunchtime. Peter left earlier for his part-time job and Tony is trapped in the board meeting, which means Harley is left to spend the day alone. He initially considered tinkering in the lab but concluded that he was not feeling it. That is why he decided to wander around the city instead.

He took a random bus and got off at a random stop. It was quite an unfamiliar part of the city. The street signs told him that he is in Queens. 

Looking around, Harley starts to stroll, letting his feet take him wherever they can. Unlike Manhattan, Queens is relatively a quiet town. Of course, like any other part of New York, it doesn't seem to lack the overwhelming number of cars and terrible traffic manners. Still, the streets are not as busy as those in the central part of New York and the buildings are much lower, given that most of them are for residence usage than business purposes. 

Quiet means peace, but it also means boredom -- and it was not a surprise that Harley loses interest sooner than later. No matter how many streets he walks and how many buildings he passes by, everything looks the same. By the time he reaches the fourth block from where the bus dropped him off, he thinks he can use a cup of coffee and some fries. Thus, from the fifth one, he casually starts searching for a small diner or a burger place. He walks past a deli called Delmar’s and passes by a Thai restaurant. It takes him a little longer than he anticipated until he finds a small and cheap-looking diner on the corner of a building.

Sal’s Easy Diner, the sign reads.

The neon is brightly lit into the letters “open” through the glass on the door. The dirt-stained windows are hard to look through, but you can still see some silhouettes of people eating and moving around. The clock marks around 2 o’clock so there aren’t that many customers inside.

Harley doesn’t give a second thought as he pulls the door open and walks in. He looks around and finds an empty booth-type table. He walks over and plops down on the seat and waits no time to pick up the menu and look through the list of food. A person -- presumably a waiter -- comes to stand by the table. Harley knows by the brushing of the clothes on the figure that he sees through the corner of his eyes. His gaze still on the menu, he hears a young male voice, which is muffled by the music coming out of the earphones.

“Hi, welcome to Sal’s. Would you like to order?”

The voice is more or less stiff and robotic, lacking energy -- just like any tired or unwilling worker would sound. It wasn’t that uncommon for a young, probably a part-time worker not to have a strong enthusiasm about what they do, so Harley doesn’t bother to care. He doesn’t look up at the waiter as he answers.

“I’d like one fries with chili sauce and a coffee.”

He only turns his eyes upward at the last moment. He freezes when he sees the face of the worker.

There stands a young teenage boy -- a year younger than Harley, to be exact -- in a light blue shirt and a dark brown apron that are undoubtedly the uniform. He has a name tag on the left side of his chest. It reads Peter.

Peter scribbles the order on the notepad and looks at Harley with an awkward expression on his face. He is looking at Harley’s direction but refuses to meet his eyes.

“Would that be all?” He says, and Harley thinks there’s a sigh mixed into the words.

Harley wonders for a short moment if he should acknowledge him. When there’s no response from him, Peter bites his lips and taps the notepad in his hand with his pen and gives an awkward “Okay” before hesitantly backing off. 

“I’ll... I’ll get you your food, then,” he says before walking away to the counter.

Harley watches Peter the whole time as he talks to the cook in the kitchen. Peter, clearly aware of Harley’s presence, deliberately tries not to look his way. Instead, he keeps himself busy with unnecessary and petty tasks such as restacking a pile of napkins or wiping the same spot on the counter with a dishcloth. 

This is in no way the kind of situation that Harley expected to find himself in. He is sure that it makes him as equally awkward and surprised as Peter must feel. And even though he only spent a few days with the boy, he knows how Peter wants to keep this part of his life private, considering how he never talked about it to either Harley or Tony. That is why Harley just decides to sit there quietly and wait for his order to be served.

Still, it makes him uncomfortable and even a little upset (not by a lot, just slightly) that Peter is so openly avoiding him. He looks at Peter for a few more seconds before sighing to himself and picking up his phone to browse at just about anything other than his distant half brother.

But it is only a few seconds later that Peter returns with a small coffee cup and a half-full coffee pot respectively held in his hands. He places the cup down on the table right in front of Harley and pours the black liquid into it. Harley fixes his gaze on coffee. 

"Thanks," he says when Peter is done.

There's a short silence before Peter responds with, "No problem."

Then Peter walks off again. Harley once again looks at the back of the teenager. He completely forgets the initial reason he walked into this place and ignores the coffee. He watches Peter return the coffee pot to its original spot. Peter spares a glimpse toward Harley and their eyes meet briefly until he looks away. Harley, however, doesn't.

A middle-aged man comes out of the door behind the counter. A momentary sight through the crack tells Harley that there seems to be a small office in there. He looks grumpy. Peter immediately turns his eyes lower as if to avoid him. It apparently does not work when the man snaps his head toward Peter.

"What's that?" Harley hears the man's grunting voice.

Peter looks at the man.

"I didn't do anything," he says.

"You fucking sighed," the man says. He stomped over to Peter and grabbed him by the collar. "I told you to not fucking sigh. And why are you not working? You expect me to pay you when you're just hanging around?"

Harley frowns at the exchange. Peter says nothing and quietly waits for the man to finish. Although Harley cannot see his expressions, Peter seems to be used to this kind of situation.

"I was just waiting for the fries the customer ordered."

At Peter's words, the man gives a short glance at Harley. Harley keeps watching the man so the man knows that Harley is and has been watching the whole conversation. He lets go of Peter.

"Well, get a mop and clean the floor or something," he grunted lowly. 

The man then slowly back into the office. Peter awkwardly sighs. He seems to be struggling against checking at Harley. Then there comes a loud call coming out of the kitchen that the fries are ready. Peter walks up to the kitchen window and picks up a small plastic basket filled with cooked potatoes and returned to Harley's table.

Harley has not taken his eyes off Peter and watches him approach him. Peter looks highly uncomfortable under the gaze as he keeps his eyes cast downward, away from Harley's. He puts down the fries on the table.

"Enjoy your food," he says hastily and tries to walk off.

"Hey," Harley calls. It is more of an instinctive move than a well-planned, thought-out action.

Peter stops in his tracks but does not turn to look at Harley. And Harley himself does not know what to say, either. Peter quickly glimpses at the closed office door where the manager just had gone into. Then he turns around halfway, still refusing to face Harley.

"Do you need anything?" He asks.

Harley stalls. Frankly, he doesn't know why he stopped Peter in the first place. But at the same time, he doesn't want to miss the chance to talk to the other teen. Thus, he decides to go along with his instincts. 

"When do you finish?" He asks. 

Peter doesn't answer immediately but does say, "Not in at least two to three hours."

He tries to walk away once again. Harley hesitates between stopping him and just letting him get back to his work. He is still not sure if there's any room for his intervention. Still, when Peter does take a step, Harley cannot stop himself.

"Should I... you know... I mean, would you like to head back together?" He says, very awkwardly, one might add.

Peter stares at Harley. The long silent look he gives is enough to alert Harley that it made the situation weird. Harley truly wants to smack himself in the head.

"Fuck, that was weird," he mutters. 

"Yeah," Peter answers. He constantly takes side glances at the closed office door. That is when Harley realizes that muffled yells and crashes are coming out of it. And Peter flinches and looks highly alerted at every noise. He quickly adds, "And no. Just... I think it would be better for you to go. Soon."

Harley sees how Peter is constantly aware of the manager's presence. Still, he feels a little offended. The instant thought that comes to his mind is if Peter is that much against being associated with him. Harley doesn't understand why, though; as aforementioned, there is just no reason for him to anticipate or expect anything from Peter. Peter must be unaware of it, for he continues talking.

"Look, I... I need to go. I... I'm not supposed to be... doing... this."

Then he once again averts his eye and walks away.

Harley feels his mood spiraling down. He looks down at the food before his eyes. The steam is coming off from the freshly fried potatoes and the coffee is still warm, if not hot. Yet, Harley had completely lost his appetite.

He once again looks at Peter. Even though Peter made it clear that he doesn't want Harley getting involved, Harley knows for a fact that he cannot take off his attention as long as he is sitting in the diner. And, of course, the biggest reason is that the manager doesn't seem so good.

And it is proven quite soon. Just as Harley attempts to dig in, the office door once again opens and the manager walks out. It seems that he was in a very bad mood as he looks around the dining hall. Peter hurriedly heads to the corner behind the counter and grabs the mop that has been leaning against the wall. But that proves not to be fast enough.

"You useless idiot. I told you to mop the floor ages ago!" The man says.

Peter doesn't answer. Instead, he quietly moves to do as he is told as if he had heard nothing. Harley can see that it was a part of his daily routine and that Peter is way used to it.

The manager then moves toward the cashier and checks the cash box. He then lets out a loud, irritated sigh. 

Peter quietly continues to clean the floor. He repeatedly looks between his work and the man; Harley picks up that he probably has something on his mind that he is pondering of spitting out. Unfortunately, the grumpy manager notices it. 

"What are you looking at?" The man shouts irritated.

Peter quickly turns his eyes downward. And Harley keeps his eyes sharply on the exchange.

The man resumes doing his work related to the cashier. Peter keeps wiping the floor with the mop. Things seem to quiet down for a moment. That is until Peter slowly stops his movement and turns toward the manager.

"Mr. Mason?" He calls.

The manager doesn't even bother to look or respond. It is as if he intends to completely ignore the boy. Peter continues anyways.

"Mr. Mason, I was wondering--"

"I told you I'll give you the money later!" Mason shouted angrily. As he did so, he also simultaneously crumpled up what seemed like receipt papers and threw them in Peter's direction. Peter flinches and avoids being hit but says nothing. Harley barely manages to stop himself from springing up in his seat. 

"I wasn't talking about that," Peter says, briefly glimpsing at Harley.

Mason grits his teeth and glares at Peter. 

"Then shut the fuck up and make yourself useful."

Peter bites his lips. He sighs as he returns to mopping the floor. That enrages Mason.

"You dare sigh again?" He snaps. 

Peter remains silent. The manager walks around the counter and stands right in front of Peter. He menacingly overshadows the boy. He then slaps Peter hard on the head. That is when Harley knows for sure that he needs to intervene. So he stands up from his seat, leaving his untouched food behind and marches toward the two.

Meanwhile, Mason has Peter grabbed in his hand by the hair.

"You think you're so smart, huh?" He growls.

Peter doesn't resist. He looks so done with the situation and very used to it.

"Hey!"

The sudden shout from Harley attracts the attention of both Mason and Peter.

"Let him go or I call the police instantly," Harley says. He glares at the older man while holding up his phone in his hand. 

Mason still has a frown deeply etched on his face as he looks from Peter to Harley, but unties his fingers from the boy's hair. He looks around as if he has the decency to be embarrassed before locking his gaze on Harley.

"Hey, kid," Mason growls. "This is none of your business. Just back the hell off."

Harley looks at Peter, who is looking at Harley and signaling him to back off. Unfortunately for Peter, Harley does not give up easily on what he sets his mind on.

So instead of leaving the place as Peter begs him to, he scoffs in the face of the manager.

"This is very much my business. He's my brother." Harley spits. He then turns to Peter and says, "Come on, we're leaving."

"What are you doing?" Peter asks, with a little trace of irritation in his voice.

Now it's the manager's turn to scoff.

"Brother my ass," he mocks. "Just another foster kid living in the same house, huh? Look, kid, this is your last chance of getting out of here unharmed."

"And this is your last chance to save this sorry-ass shithole you call a 'diner'," Harley counters. "Believe me, you don't wanna mess with me. Or him."

"Or what? What can an orphan brat do?"

Harley looks at the man with a dangerous glare.

"So that's what this is about?" He says. "You're abusing him just because he's an orphan and powerless?"

Mason snaps. "Like I said, it is none of your business how I deal with an arrogant, useless employee in my diner."

"Jesus, you're stupid, aren't you?" Harley sighs mockingly. "I just told you otherwise less than a minute ago. I really don't wanna waste my energy and time repeating the same thing over and over again, but I'll tell you something for the sake of your intelligence. For one, it is absolutely wrong to treat an underage employee in 'your way' regardless of their background. Two, he's not an orphan, and neither am I. And you really don't wanna mess with either of us."

When Mason tries to refute, Harley cuts him off by turning toward Peter.

"Come on, get your stuff. We're leaving," he says.

When Peter doesn't move, Harley grabs him by the arm and pulls him away through the door.

"If you don't want to get your things, then we're just leaving without 'em," says Harley.

Peter sighs and pulls his arm out of Harley's grasp.

"If you want to go, then just go by yourself," Peter says. 

"No. I'm not going without you. You're leaving," Harley insists.

"That's not the decision you're supposed to make," Peter retorts sharply.

Harley just looks at Peter for a second before grabbing his arm again. Then he pulled him toward the front door of the place.

"You little brat! Pay for the fucking food!" Mason says.

Harley stops. He turns around and glares at the man. He passes by Peter to walk up to him and takes out his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. He pulls a 50 dollar bill from it and slams it down on the surface of the counter.

"Here. Happy now?" He growls at Mason. "This should cover that crap you call food."

He then walks back to Peter and pulls him out through the door and onto the street. Once they are out and the door closes, Peter shakes Harley's hand off his arm. Harley turns around and faces him. Peter sighs exasperatedly.

"What are you doing?" He asks. 

"Quitting that shitty job for you," Harley says.

"Well, who gives you the right to do that?" Peter shots back.

Harley glares at him without answering. Peter takes a deep breath as if to calm himself down.

"How did you find me?" He asks. "Are you spying on me or something?"

Harley is also getting more and more irritated. He decides that he is done trying to understand his new brother. It is about time he confronted him rather than wait for him.

"I didn't," he snaps at Peter. "I didn't even know you were working here."

Peter's eyes narrow. He doesn't seem to believe him but does not voice it out. Harley scoffs.

"Dude, I may be an awkward nerd, but I'm not a friggin' stalker," he says. "I've got better things to do than to follow you around."

Peter looks away. Harley doesn't wait.

"You don't have to work at this shitty place anymore, dude," he says. "No, you know what? You don't have to work, period. Why are you so keen on keep working here?"

Peter remains speechless. When the silence lasts for longer than Harley anticipated, he continues.

"If you want to work, fine. That's your choice to make. But find somewhere decent. You're not working at some low place where you're not respected or treated as you should be. Not anymore."

"It's not like I had any choice," Peter suddenly jumps in. This makes Harley shut his mouth. Peter sighs and goes on. "This was the only place that hired me. It was the only way for me to prepare for when I finally get out of foster care."

Harley chooses to listen than talk. Peter doesn't seem like he is done, so Harley waits for him to spill out everything he needs to. But he doesn't. 

So Harley speaks up.

"Look, if you're not comfortable talking to me, then fine. I won't bother you. But you and I are a part of the same family, whether you like it or not. We live in the same place and share the same things. And as long as I know you exist, I won't be able to not care."

Peter breathes. He licks his lips and bites them. The way he jitters show that he is nervous. 

"It's just... I'm just not used to this kind of thing," he finally says. "It was always about me taking care of myself. No one looked out for me. And this whole concept of having a brother, a sibling is... it's just... awkward. Everything is."

Harley takes a deep breath. He can see that Peter is not good at showing emotions or having an honest conversation, and frankly, it was not Harley's specialty, either. Thus, he carefully thinks about what to say and fights the urge to stop himself as he forms the words.

"I... I get it. It's awkward. It's unfamiliar," he says. "But you gotta try, dude."

There's an awkward silence between the two. Harley, in an attempt to replace the discomfort, adds in a forced casual voice.

"By the looks of how you were to doing in there, it doesn't really seem like you were 'taking care of yourself'."

Peter scoffs humorlessly.

"You don't want to keep working there, do you?" Harley asks.

Peter takes a moment but eventually shakes his head.

"Well, you're quitting," Harley declares.

Peter lets out a long breath.

"And I'll never get that two-months worth of pay now," he mutters.

Harley snaps his head to look at him.

"He didn't even pay you?" He repeats, surprised. "That's it, you are definitely not going back in there."

"Well, I'm going back in," Peter retorts. When Harley frowns at him, he adds, "I'm not leaving without my stuff."

Harley watches Peter open the door and go back inside. He can see Mason approaching Peter, and Peter stops momentarily. It seems like Peter has said something. Then he starts to walk. Mason keeps saying something to him but Peter seemingly ignores him completely as he goes into the back of the counter and pulls out his backpack. He then places the name tag off of his shirt and on the counter. Still ignoring the manager, Peter comes back outside.

"I quit," he says. "Officially."

Harley nods and the two of them begin to walk toward the bus stop. No words are spoken and the air between them is rigid and awkward. Harley clears his throat.

"Should I just call Happy? I'm pretty sure Happy can come pick us up," he says.

Peter snorts in response.

"Are you always this spoiled?"

Harley simply shrugs. 

"You do realize that you're now living in one of the richest families on Earth?"

"Doesn't mean that you have to constantly brag about it or waste it. And Happy is Tony's driver, not ours."

"I'm just utilizing what I have. Not doing so is the true waste."

Peter snorts once again.

"Just shut up and walk."

"I am walking."

Then another silence follows. By the time the two of them pass a full block without sharing any words, Peter chooses to break it.

"Hey," he says quietly.

Harley hums in response.

"You really didn't know that I was here?" Peter asks.

Harley gives a humorless laugh.

"Do you really take me as the kind of guy to go chasing after you when knowing that that would be the exact thing to make you mad?"

Peter doesn't answer. Another thirty seconds pass in silence.

"Thanks," Peter then says abruptly and awkwardly. "For... you know, sticking up for me."

Harley scoffs.

"Yeah, well," he says, "I told you we're brothers now, dude."

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Always, thank you so very much for reading this! I love hearing what you thought or what you want to say about it. Please, feel free to leave comments, kudos, and reviews!
> 
> Wherever you are, I hope you all have a great day!
> 
> Best, Lisa :)


End file.
